Boston's Charles River Clean Enough for Swimming

Those lyrics, popularized by The Standells’ 1966 hit song about Beantown, are no longer apt to describe the city’s famously grimy Charles River. Last weekend marked the first time in half a century the water was swimmable for the general public, according to the Charles River Conservancy (CRC)—an event marked by nearly 150 people jumping into the waterway that flows from Hopkinton to the Boston Harbor.

“With cheers of celebration, swimmers jumped off the dock at the Esplanade to enjoy a cool swim in the Charles,” stated a CRC release about the event. “During the four 30-minute swim segments, swimmers splashed, laughed and treaded water in awe of the moment, as lifeguards watched from the dock and from kayaks on the water.”

The river, despite its designation as “one of New England’s crown jewels,” has a nearly 20-year history of poor water quality. In 1995, the EPA gave it a D, meaning it was OK for some boating, but absolutely no swimming. (An A, for reference, always meets the EPA standards for water quality.) Its grade steadily increased each year, to a B+ in 2012.

How did the waters get clean enough to swim in? The EPA focused on storm overflows, sewer connections and sources polluting the river. It was a system that needed rejiggering, The Atlantic wrote. “When water levels were low, all of the liquid in the system — both sewage and rainwater — flowed harmlessly to be cleaned at a treatment center on Deer Island in Boston Harbor. When a major rainstorm hit, however, these systems got backed up. Everything in the pipes, sewage and all, would flush directly into the Charles and its tributaries.”

From those murky depths flowed the Clean Charles River Initiative, a collaboration between the EPA, the state, local government, and what the EPA called “concerned citizens.” “In 1995, the river met boating standards 39 percent of the time, and swimming standards 19 percent of the time,” noted an EPA press release. “In contrast, the 2006 data show that the lower Charles achieved boating standards 90 percent of the time, and attained swimming standards 62 percent of the time.”

It took six months for officials to secure a permit for the July 13th swim, reported The Boston Globe. “Over the past eight years, a group called the Charles River Swim Club has hosted a one-mile race for elite swimmers, but Saturday morning was the first time officials permitted a swim to be held for the general public.”

The Atlantic writes that we shouldn’t expect regular swimming in the Charles quite yet. When the time comes, feel free to dive on in. The water’s (apparently) fine.